


Fall Down Dead

by TVBS



Series: Flesh and Bones [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Happy Ending, M/M, Vampires, loosely inspired by the Carmilla webseries, weird stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:12:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2644556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVBS/pseuds/TVBS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael loves working at Rooster Teeth. Despite all the weird things that happened there.</p><p>And how many people they seem to go through.</p><p>And the fact they just hired a vampire.</p><p>At least, Michael thinks Gavin’s a vampire. He’s not too sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The desk next to him was empty.

Again.

“God fucking damn it, what’s the excuse this time?” Not that Michael really expected a response, or at least one that made sense, but he actually thought this time they had found a coworker that would make it past one month next to him. Yeah, he knew a lot of weird stuff went down in the office (never leave an XBox of any generation alone while it was on, he learned pretty quickly. Michael was just lucky Lindsay knew how to get bloodstains out of his favorite shirt), but it wasn’t like it was _bad._ Just weird.

Speaking of weird, where was everyone? Geoff, Ray, Ryan, and Michael all had a Minecraft video to record, and none of them were anywhere to be found to go over what they wanted to do. When things got weird, yeah, people had to go put a stop to it, but he couldn’t hear any moaning or sounds of violence being inflicted upon rabid ferns - he still hadn’t asked about that one - so it couldn’t be that.

Well, if everyone else was fucking off, he might as well get started editing a Rage Quit video. Michael slipped his headphones on as he listened to his own voice yelling at the game, slowly whittling the video down to the good parts. Everything seemed pretty good, actually. Maybe one of his best Rage Quits yet. Though rewatching that one part- Michael’s teeth gritted in remembered anger. It had been one of the more frustrating experiences of his career. “You fucking asshole,” he muttered to himself as he paused the video and started to cut a section.

”What did I do?”

Michael would like to say at the unexpected British voice by his ear that he didn’t jump about a foot in the air and start cursing. That he stayed calm, didn’t snatch his headphones off, and calmly turned to the man who had his head right beside him. He would like to say it, but as his headphones went flying, he would be lying. “Who the hell- where the fuck- how?!”

He wasn’t the only surprised on, though how this guy thought he had the right to be shocked... Hands came up as his eyes went wide, trying to pacify him. “Whoa, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you there. I just wanted to know what you were up to.” Lips curled into a sheepish half grin as one of his hands reached out. “Nice to meet you. Name’s-”

”Goddamn it, Gavin, get your shit out of the middle of the hallway!” Geoff’s voice broke between them as someone stumbled into what was probably this guy’s - Gavin’s - stuff. He whirled around, a doofy smile etched onto his lips as he bounded away from Michael like a puppy or something. “Once you get this, I’ll show you where you’ll be sitting.”

Michael froze. There was only one place. Only one desk that had recently been vacated. Gavin was going to be sitting next to _him_. What the hell. Why. Why did they have to hire this lanky British asshole...?

Who was currently coming back, holding a huge box and grinning manically at Michael over the side of it.

Goddamn it.

* * *

He was lost. That goddamn idiot was lost. Michael couldn’t even talk for a moment, only look at the map in pixelated hands while he watched the dot representing Gavin move even farther away. “No, no, turn _around_ , you moron.”

”This way?” Finally, the marker pointed the right way, and Michael let out a breath. He wouldn’t have to kill the British ass after all. “Oh hey, lav- oh God!”

Michael couldn’t help himself. He looked over to Gavin’s screen watching his character dancing away from a lava pit. On fire. Again. Every goddamn time. They weren’t going to be able to put Gavin’s idea into motion if he kept dying every five fucking seconds and respawning back at the house. “Okay, this time, _go north first._ ”

Though, while he waited, it was probably a good idea to start mining for supplies. They would need iron for this... and coal to smelt it. Michael turned to go down into the mine, then tensed as he heard Gavin get up beside him. “Michael, my boi,” he slurred a bit, head coming down next to his throat. “I’m absolutely parched and going to get everyone more bevs. Do you want anything?”

”No, I...” Gavin really didn’t know the concept of personal space sometimes. His body pressed in too close, too hot, his breath smelling of- “Nah, I’m good.”

Gavin smiled a crooked smile as he pulled away, leaving Michael to blink a little as a skeleton started sniping at him. He knew where he had smelled that before. What Gavin’s breath smelled like.

Gavin’s breath smelled like blood.

* * *

It didn’t take long to find out Gavin was fucking bisexual as hell. Kind of hard to miss it when it was obvious he was flirting with (and sometimes went off with) both chicks and dudes when the crew went out drinking. Which was... kinda cool in a way. Made sense. Michael could see that face sucking a dick. Kneeling down and opening those lips to take in a cock- nope, he wasn’t going to go there. Not going to think about that. He shook his head at the thought. During the weekend, Gavin had left the club with someone that had looked like he could bench-press the both of them, and it really drove home just how much he swung between both genders.

”Michael, my boi, could you take a look at this?” Gavin’s voice interrupted his thoughts, his head resting on his fist. “I keep getting this error and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

”Sure thing.” A few quick clicks made sure his work was saved and he rolled over to Gavin’s desk, looking at the screen. “So how are you fucking things up this time?”

”I am shocked and wounded that you think this is all my fault!” Though, the words were followed by a grin when Gavin turned to him. “Look. I do this-” He clicked a few things, and an error message popped up. “And I get this bloody thing! How do I make it go away?”

”Well first, don’t do that.” Michael grinned as Gavin smacked him, rubbing his arm where his fist had impacted. He was a lot stronger than he let on. A lot. He had started to like the ass, but-

Michael was almost completely sure Gavin was a vampire.

Yeah, it was cliche, especially given how weird things were around the office (which was probably why Gavin got the error right now. Everything he did was perfect, and given it was in Latin, it looked nothing like a normal error), but it was the only explanation. There was the blood breath, he picked up things by himself that took Ray, Ryan, and Geoff to lift, and Michael had seen a few of his Slow-Mo Guys videos. No way those could have been done without some superpowered help.

So yeah, he watched his neck around Gavin. Thing was, no one else seemed to see it. They all went about their business like it was norm- okay, in this place, a vampire would be normal. Of course, Gavin didn’t really act like a bloodsucker. What kind of vampire had a hair-trigger gag reflex and acted like a doofy puppy? And got completely blitzed on just plain alcohol at the same rate he did?

And that was why Michael was almost sure instead of completely sure. There was just too much that wasn’t right about that conclusion.

”-cool. My boy, hey.” Oh hey, Gavin’s been calling him. Michael mentally shook himself and looked over at him. “Hey. So, what should I do?”

Good question. “Have you tried turning it on and off again?” he snarked. It seemed like the obvious IT answer, though it really wouldn’t work for something like this. The way Gavin thought about it... Michael winced as his face lit up.

”I’ll try that!” He saved his project quickly, moving to shut down his computer soon after. “You know, sometimes computers just get really touchy and have to be rebooted,” Gavin started conversationally as the screen went black. “So this should work!” His fingers reached out to turn the computer back on, and Michael found himself watching them reach out. He really did have nice fingers. “Oh! We’re all going out for bevs tonight,” he told Michael as the computer booted back up. “Are you coming?”

It sounded like a great idea. Get drunk with everyone, spend some time with Lindsay having fun, watch Gavin make an ass of himself yet again... Oh yeah, that sounded like a great idea. And maybe he’d get closer to the answer of “Is Gavin a vampire yes/no?”

As Michael wheeled back to his own computer, he wasn’t sure what answer he wanted.

* * *

”Micheal...” Warm arms snaked around his waist (another point again vampirism. Weren’t they supposed to be cold?) as Gavin dropped his chin on Michael’s shoulder. “Michael, Michael, you need to try this drink Barbara has. It’s...” He trailed off, trying to find a word for it in his drunken haze. Finally, he fell back on, “Top. It’s fucking top.” His face turned to bury his nose into Michael’s neck and that was enough. His mouth was way too close, and way too affectionate. He wasn’t gay, for fuck’s sake.

”And you’re completely hammered,” Michael told him as he pulled Gavin off. “I don’t think you should be having any more of anyone’s drinks or you’re going to be puking in the cab.”

That made Gavin whine, trying to hold onto Michael and failing. “Are you going to take me home, then?” Oh hell, the puppy eyes. Why the hell was Gavin so damn cute sometimes? “Please, Micool?”

”I know you brought enough money to take a cab,” he started when Lindsay took his drink away from him, laughing.

”And you should stop being an asshole and just go with him.” Why were her eyes sparkling? God, how much had she had to drink already? “Keep him company in the cab so he doesn’t talk the driver’s ear off. I’ll let Geoff know you took off.”

God damn it, Lindsay. Michael ran a hand through his hair, looking at Gavin. That expectant look... damn it. He’d look like more of a jerk than usual if he said no at this point. And really, Gavin had to be drunk enough that he was a vampire, he could get away if he went for Michael’s throat. Yeah. And anyway, he just had to drop him off at the Ramseys’, and Millie had to be safe somewhere else anyway so no worries there, and get out and everything would be great. “Fine. But you owe me a drink next time,” he told her, pointing a finger at her for emphasis.

Somehow, it just made her laugh. “Go.”

Gavin instantly perked up as Michael gestured to him, drunkenly bounding after him. Yeah, there was a lot of evidence building up saying that he wasn’t a vampire. He was being cautious for nothing.

Still, if he was, Michael liked his neck in one piece. So he carefully sat on one far end of the cab as Gavin slumped against the door of the other. “Hey, Michael,” he heard Gavin say softly as the cab slowly made its way out of downtown. “Michael.”

For a moment, he didn’t answer. Just watched the theater go by followed by the Starbucks. Finally, he looked over at Gavin. “Yeah?”

”Can you stay over?” Michael’s head whipped around to look at Gavin as he shifted. “It’s too quiet when no one’s there. Geoff and Griffon won’t get home for hours and Millie isn’t there.” He grunted as he settled again, head tilted so he could look at Michael. There was something... old in Gavin’s face. Something deep. “Just sit next to my bed so it’s not so quiet.”

Quiet bothered Gavin for some reason. It was a bad idea, if only for the cracks Geoff would make about Michael sleeping over plus the whole Gavin might take a chunk of out his throat in the night thing. What if this was a ploy to make him a meal? Christ. But... damn it, he hated that look on Gavin’s face. “Yeah.” Fuck, he had to be blitzed worse than Gavin if he was agreeing to this. “Fine, sure. Just until you fall asleep.”

All the energy had drained out of Gavin once they left the club, leaving him sleepily smiling at Michael. “Good. It’ll be top, the two of us in Geoff’s house. Just top.”

Michael had no idea what the hell he was thinking about. “Just... sit over there and try not to puke.”

”Okay.” For a minute, the cab was quiet. Then, “Hey. Have you ever thought about jellyfish?”

This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

A cat. There was a cat sitting on him, big and smothering. Its eyes shone as the darkness smothered him, pressing in at all sides. Slithered up wherever the cat wasn’t, over his face, covering him. Through it all he could smell blood all around him, and he knew he would drown in it soon if the cat didn’t eat him first-

Michael woke with a start, eyes snapping open at the shake on his arm. Fuck, he had fallen asleep. Crawled in bed and all. He could smell something, and feel the heat of someone over him- Gavin. Gavin must have woken him up. “Are you okay?” he asked him quietly as Michael rolled slightly onto his back, his hand relaxing slightly. “You were muttering pretty nastily in your sleep.”

”Mm.” It was still too early, or he was still too drunk to process that. The dream had started to slip away- something about a cat. But right now, he could see the green of Gavin’s eyes reflecting in the low light, and his face was so close... Would he be able to taste blood if he kissed him? It wasn’t gay to wonder that, or to pull Gavin the rest of the way down to test that. A sleepy part of his brain told him yes, you idiot, it was totally gay but damn it, Gavin was kissing him back and _fuck_. Who told him he was allowed to be that good at it? And the tongue inside Gavin’s mouth was purely scientific, looking for fangs and completely ignoring the way he made a little noise at the exploration. Shit. He could feel Gavin shift to throw a leg over him, rolling to pin him to the bed and oh fuck, this was going way past just make sure if he could taste blood. Which he couldn’t. Which for some reason, he didn’t care because Gavin was fucking sticking his hand down Michael’s boxers as he pressed kisses into his neck and yeah, okay, this was good.

Another experiment came to mind. Didn’t he think Gavin would look good with a cock in his mouth? Yeah, he had a really sensitive gag reflex but he had to have given a dude a blowjob at some point. And out of pure scientific reasoning, he’d look right with Michael’s dick in his mouth and fuck if that thought didn’t just make said dick jump in Gavin’s hand. Plus, there was a good reason for Gavin’s mouth not to be by his neck so... he started pushing Gavin down with one hand, hooking his boxers with the other. For a moment, he make a confused noise before he got it, and shifted down the bed to Michael’s dick. And then-

Oh yeah. Yeah, he had definitely been right. Gavin didn’t take much of him into his mouth, wrapping the rest in his hand and jerking him off with a steady pace, but that wasn’t the good part. Gavin looked fucking _perfect_ like that. Like he was made to suck cock. A rogue thought that it was a stroke of luck that Gavin had so much hair so he could grab onto it as his head bobbed just right and if he kept it up- “Gavin,” he gasped, not wanting to stop him but a mouthful of jizz might not be what he wanted. “I’m-”

It seemed that wasn’t what Gavin wanted, as he pulled back, licking his lips. His hand kept going as he kissed his neck again. Gavin was riding his leg, the hard line of his cock against his thigh but fuck it, this felt so good and he shouldn’t let Gavin near his throat for some reason but he didn’t care because his orgasm just crashed over him. Michael gripped both Gavin’s arms hard, just needing to grab something when he felt pain in his throat and-

Shit. _Shit._

It didn’t matter if Gavin came or not because he just bit him. Gavin, who was a fucking vampire now, no questions needed, had his fucking head pressed against his throat and currently lapping up his blood and oh fuck.

Gavin was a vampire.


	2. Chapter 2

_A vampire is sucking my blood._

The thought blared through Michael’s mind, scattering all warmth of an orgasm as he gripped Gavin’s shoulders. He shouldn’t push him off, not with the idea that maybe it might make the wound in his neck larger, but instinct forced his arms forward. The look on Gavin’s face, that dazed, needy, aroused look- fuck, he just had Gavin suck his dick. Gavin was going to come while _sucking his blood_ Jesus fucking Christ. He shouldn’t have even gotten into the taxi with Gavin. He shouldn’t have agreed to stay. He shouldn’t-

”Michael?” Gavin sounded confused as he settled back on his heels, giving the other man room to scramble up and away. “What’s wrong?”

”What’s wrong?!” He knew his voice was spiraling up loud enough to wake whoever would be in the house, but Michael couldn’t stop it. His hand came up, touching the wet spot on his neck. “You- You fucking bit me!”

The words didn’t seem to register at first, then Gavin’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God,” he mumbled, looking down. “You didn’t- I didn’t mean to. Look, other than Lindsay, no one should know you went home with me, yeah? They should think a pretty bird put that there.” He rubbed his hands over his knees, licking his lips. “I-”

”What the hell are you talking about?” Michael demanded, pulling his fingers away. “You-”

He broke off as he looked down at his hand. The fingers were shiny in the weak moonlight, but not red. Not with blood. Michael reached up and rubbed his palm against the spot, then looked down at it. His hand was wet with spit, not blood. Gavin had just put a fucking hickey on him.

... oh fuck, he had just basically had sex with Gavin and now he had a hickey on his throat. What the hell was he thinking? And Gavin was still looking down, still hiding his face. Michael felt like maybe, possibly, he should say something. Considering he had just gotten a blowjob from his male friend and all. But once the vampire panic started to wane (and he still wasn’t sure about that one. He knew the legends about vampire spit healing or something shit and if they were even a little bit true, well, he knew what happened), then came the _holy shit I just enjoyed kissing and getting a blowjob from a dude_ thoughts.

Fuck, he couldn’t have a big gay panic in front of Gavin. “Uh,” he croaked, finally lowering his hand. “Fuck.”

That earned him a mirthless laugh. “That’s one way of putting it.” Gavin slowly got off the bed, turning around. “I won’t- I won’t tell anyone, I promise. It’ll be a one time thing. I won’t-”

”Holy shit, Gav, stop freaking the fuck out.” Did he really think Michael was going to have that much of a gay panic that he’d rage at him? “Yeah, I mean... we should keep this between us and yeah, one time thing. I’m not going to yell at you, though. I uh...” He fingered the hickey, scowling. “Might yell at you for doing this, haven’t decided yet. Seriously, it’s not exactly like Austin has scarf-wearing weather!”

”For about a week it does!” Gavin didn’t turn around yet, his fingers fidgeting slightly. “So, you’re... not going to hate me for this?”

He really was worried Michael was going to flip out about giving him head. With a frustrated sigh, Michael ran a hand through his curls, trying to figure out what to say. Shit, he needed to say this with pants on. At least underwear. While he slipped everything on, his mind kept racing. Okay, so, easy part first: Is Gavin a vampire? Michael looked over at him, exhaling. For all he could tell, the answer was still up in the air. Though, he would put money on “no” now, considering that he had the perfect chance to bite him and just gave him a hickey. Next- shit, he would have to think about his big gay experience and the fact it didn’t just feel really good, but he got really into it. And that he had guided Gavin to do that. “I don’t hate you,” he finally told him. “Just... maybe we should do some videos seperate for a while. You know, while we figure this out.”

”Oh.” That small voice. Damn, if that didn’t make Michael feel like a heel. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds-”

”If you say top, I swear to God I’m going to beat some sense into your ass.”

That made Gavin laugh and turn around. “I have some money for a cab if you want to sneak out before Geoff wakes up,” he offered. “So he doesn’t know you stayed over.”

”Yeah.” Michael took another breath, standing around awkwardly as Gavin dug through his pants to find the cash. “I wouldn’t hate you,” he suddenly said, feeling pressured to fill the silence. “For what happened. I- shit, I started it for a dumb reason.”

”What was that?” Gavin straightened, a wad of cash in his hand and a curious expression crossing his features.

”It’s really dumb.” Michael looked away, rubbing the hickey. “I thought you... shit, I feel stupid saying this. I thought you might be a vampire.”

The words sank between them, making Michael’s pulse beat against his ears. Gavin didn’t say anything- then laughed. “You doughnut,” he chuckled, handing him the cash. Michael took it with a grumble, feeling stupider than ever. He should have known that Gavin couldn’t- “You didn’t know? I thought everyone knew that already.”

The money fell out of Michael’s hand.

”Uh, Michael? What’s wrong?”

Gavin just- “You’re-”

He just blinked at Michael, uncomprehending. “What? Do I have something on me?” He looked down at himself, then back up at him. Fuck, Gavin really was a vampire and he just casually admitted it. Michael’s hand came back up over the hickey (was it really a hickey?) as he took a step back.

”You _bit_ my fucking _neck_ and you’re a vampire and you’re asking me what the fuck is wrong?!” What did he do to be in this situation with such a dumbass? “You were sucking my goddamn blood!”

”Michael, no!” Gavin actually looked distressed at that. “I mean, I wanted to but I wouldn’t. Good way to ruin a friendship, innit?” He rubbed his arms, looking away. “I don’t do that unless you want to.” He looked back, a crooked half-smile humorlessly crossing his lips. “I do learn things, Michael. And that one I learned the hard way.”

It was hard for him to respond to that. On the one hand, yeah, but he still wanted to eat him! But Gavin seriously looked upset about that, and sounded sincere about everything. “... I’m just going to go home,” Michael announced. Fuck it, run away. Run far away from the vampire he had just had sex with and deal with it all later.

Later.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know what you did, but it looks like you had a very fun night."

Michael resisted the urge to drop his head into his hands as Lindsay's amused voice came from behind him. "Can you not?" he groaned. Of course she had waited until everyone else had stuff they had to do. He didn't want to think about it at all, not the way he had a massive hangover once he had actually sobered up, the massive hickey on his neck that actually looked like a vampire sucked on it, or the fact he had Gavin's fucking mouth around his dick and yeah, he had started that whole thing. Michael looked at the clock, trying to figure if he would be able to record a Rage Quit right now and scare people into not bothering him.

Lindsay smirked, leaning her head down to look right at the hickey. "So. You and Gavin. Unless you found someone else after you dropped him off to go all vampire on your neck."

That made Michael's spine straighten immediately. Gavin had said everyone knew, but- "Ahaha, that's-"

"Wait." Lindsay pulled back, her eyes wide. "I was kidding about going all vampire." She leaned back in, making sure to keep her voice down in case anyone came in on the two of them. "Dude, you let Gavin suck your blood? You're that kind of boy?"

"Fuck off." Michael absently reached out and smacked his computer as it growled at him. Damn thing finally decided to get ornery with him. Just as long as it didn't try to bite him like Geoff's had. "Don't you have some RT Life to edit or someone else's life to make miserable?"

"Do I look like Gavin?" she asked, pointedly looking at the empty desk beside her. Though, good question. Where the hell was that fucking pest? "Really, though. I had thought maybe all that homoerotic tension between you two might have finally came to a head last night, but I didn't think you'd actually let him near your neck after you've been trying so hard to keep him away from it. What, did you change your mind? Did you actually want some kinky vampire shit while you-"

"LINDSAY!" Michael rubbed his forehead. Goddamn it, why was she so nosy? "Look, I didn't actually know he was a vampire until he told me, and it's just a hickey. And I'm trying not to fucking advertise what happened to everyone, okay? So keep it down."

A disbelieving laugh tumbled from Lindsay's lips as she settled back. "Really? You didn't catch the blood breath, the way his eyes reflect light, Geoff saying his entire family was dreaming about a big sandy cat ever since Gavin started living with them? You're really that blind?"

"Oh fuck you." Michael sat back, glaring at her.

"Not going to move in on Gavin's territory," she said easily as she stood back up. "Really, though. You need to be careful. There's a reason Geoff and Griffin won't let Gavin stay alone with Millie."

It was hard to imagine Gavin being a threat to anyone in the Ramsey household. Even as a vampire, he couldn't hurt anyone. Gavin's sad, deep, old look took hold in his mind. What the hell caused a look like that? "Whatever." Aspirin, then he was going to go record that Rage Quit. "I'll see you later," he mumbled as he stood, pushing her aside and walking by the latest empty desk. Another goddamn one. And of course he wasn't going to get an answer about that any time soon.

Okay, so the kitchen. They had that emergency hangover kit there, and plenty of water. It was the warmest spot in the building, so he'd have to get out of there pretty quickly before the heat made that headache worse. Michael started rooting around for the kit, his mood darkening with each drawer he opened. Fuck, where was it? Yeah, this was building up a nice head a rage for his video, but he needed it to be aimed at a game, not as the idiocy that was the organizational skills of the dumbshits he worked with. He put his hand on the pantry door, about ready to check there when a tattooed hand wrapped around his wrist.

"Hey, so, we need to talk about what games you're going to do for your next videos," Geoff's voice cut in, startling him. When had he arrived? The man usually took up so much presence everyone knew where he was at all times, so why had Michael not seen him there? "I have Gavin on a few other projects so you'll be alone, but we still need to hash out your schedule." He let Michael's wrist go, nodding to the door, indicating that he wanted him back at his desk, now.

Of course. The pounding pressed against his skull harder, threatening to break the bones apart. "Be right there."

"Uh uh." Geoff's hand came down between his shoulders, pushing him forward. "March."

Not even enough time for him to go find that fucking aspirin. Goddamn it. Michael shrugged Geoff's hand off, starting out. Maybe Geoff had some in his desk he could beg off him.

* * *

Finally. Michael sat down heavily on his bed, then flopped back. He could finally be away from the weirdness of the Rooster Teeth office and Gavin trying to be a barnacle to various people and just rest and relax and fucking hell this headache just wouldn't go away.

His hand covered the bruise on his neck, looking up at his ceiling. What was he doing with his goddamn life? He worked at an office playing video games for a living (which was, to be honest, pretty awesome) where he had to worry about XBoxes spewing blood and computers being randomly possessed, and it seemed the norm. There was a vampire working there, and even that seemed to slot right in with the weirdness. Not only that, but he actually wanted to fuck said vampire? Maybe, fuck, he didn't know. His fingers stroked over the hickey, swallowing as he remembered. Gavin could have eaten him right then. He could have pinned him down and sucked him dry while getting off. Good thing it was Gavin, right?

Michael groaned at that, covering his eyes with his forearm. That fucking asshole. What the hell was up with him? So he was touchy-feely, didn't want to be alone, and apparently was hot for Michael's dick. So what were they going to do about it? Geoff wanted at least one video with the two of them together soon, so he needed to get his shit sorted out now rather than later. Okay, so. Where should he start with figuring out what the hell was up with all this and what to do next?

Probably talking to Gavin. Fuck.

Michael sat back up, rubbing his eyes. Fine. At some point, he'd get together questions he wanted to ask Gavin and figure it all out. He would have to start with where the hell Gavin got his blood, and go from there. And try not to think about Gavin actually biting into him, piercing his skin and sucking his blood and how that would feel. Because he really didn't want to think about that. At all.


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes, having a vampire on staff worked out. Also sometimes, it was hilarious to watch Gavin have to haul around heavy equipment, whining the whole way. Michael sat back in his chair as his video rendered, snickering as he watched said vampire walk by the room with what looked like a large heavy desk of some sort. "Looking good, Gav!" he called out, grinning as the muffled British cursing started.

The amusement factor simmered down as Michael rubbed his neck. He still needed to talk to him, especially about what caused the fading bruise under his palm. But actually pinning the little bastard down sometimes was difficult. If he wasn't out causing trouble while his videos were rendering or uploading, he was working on actually editing them or recording a new one. Or, in this case, being put to work so he wouldn't cause trouble for once. Maybe if he took him out for lunch, and not meaning him as lunch. It was about time for that anyway. Michael looked over at his monitor, and groaned. Not even twenty percent done. Yeah, he was grabbing grub now, and hoping his computer wouldn't eat itself before finishing rendering. "Hey, once you're done, you want Freebird's?"

He could feel Geoff turning to look at him as Gavin poked his head in, hair more a mess than usual. "Your treat?"

"No, I'm going to make you pay for everything," Michael told him sarcastically. "Dude, I know how broke you are right now."

"Oh yeah." Gavin laughed a little at that. "Give me a few minutes." With those words, he left, then the sound of his whining filtered down the hall again as something bumped into the wall. Michael rested his head on his fist, sneaking another look at the progress bar and suppressing a groan at how little actual progress was made. A long thick beam walked its way past, held solidly by a vampire muttering under his breath. Finally, he came back, his face bright and open. "Done! Lunch, yeah?"

"Burritos, fuck yeah." Michael grinned at him as he locked his computer. As he grabbed his keys, he saw Geoff's look. Steady, almost threatening. He knew the Ramseys were protective of their imported vampire, even if they didn't trust him alone with Millie (even though those two got along great). Fuck, Gavin must have talked to them about that night. Or something. Or maybe he just knew things were tense between them for... some reason. Michael tried to look innocent, making Geoff snort and turn back to his computer. Well, it worked. He turned back to Gavin, grinning. "Let's go!"

* * *

Vampires could eat, Michael had already known that. He had seen Gavin eat several times, and quite enthusiastically. It hadn't occurred to him before, but- "If you're a vampire, how the hell can you scarf down a burrito like you haven't eaten in days?" he said around his own mouthful.

That made Gavin pause in his inhalation of his food, and actually lower his burrito as he chewed slowly. A thoughtful swallow began a weighted silence between them, Gavin opening his mouth and closing it several times. The noise of the restaurant almost covered Gavin's voice as he spoke, softly. "It's like- I still need to feed the body, yeah? I still have a human body, so I still need to feed it."

Michael snorted at that. "You're saying that blood can't take care of it all? Then why even drink it?"

"Shh!" Gavin took another bite of his food, eyes darting around. It was loud enough that whatever they were saying would be lost to anyone trying to overhear them, but whatever. "And no, you silly sausage. It's just- like water for you. Something else I need to stay alive. So I eat and drink blood."

"Huh." Michael chewed on a mouthful for a moment, looking at him. "That's a question. Do you drink like animal blood or-"

Gavin threw his burrito down as he gagged at the mere thought. "No. God no," he said, tears coming to his eyes as his hand came up to his mouth. "Oh, don't ever mention that again. That was the worst night of my life." He wiped his mouth, burping a little and still looking sick. "No. Donors." Gavin looked back at the last fourth of his food, no longer having the face of someone that wanted to devour every inch of it. "Oh, Michael."

"Hey, no one gave me Vampire 101," he said in defense. "Just trying to figure some things out here. So why don't Geoff and Griffon trust you around Millie?"

The old, sad look etched its way back into Gavin's features again. "Don't," he told him in a tone Michael never heard from him before. "I was stupid, which is all you need to know." He pulled out his phone, hitting the lock button briefly to glimpse the time. "We should start back."

"I'm not done." To illustrate, Michael took another bite while watching Gavin.

"I am." The tone brooked no argument, harder than anything he had ever heard out of the Brit. Michael put down his burrito, nodding. "Sorry, Michael. We shouldn't be late back."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he started gathering up his trash. Gavin had done something that even he would call stupid, and it had bit him in the ass more than he thought it would. Michael wanted to know more, wanted to know what Gavin had done and how it had blown up in his face- no. Not with that look. Not while Gavin looked like memories were battering around inside him, making him look- "Just one more question, Gavvy. How old are you?"

Gavin made a frustrated noise, glaring at him. "I don't want to answer-"

"Come on. Are you actually as old as you say you are or are you, like, a thousand years old?"

"Not that old," Gavin muttered. "If it's really that important, about... I think three hundred? I lost track of a lot of time."

"Dude." Three fucking hundred. And Gavin wasn't even completely sure about that. "You need your walker, old man?"

That made Gavin grin again. "Oh sod off."


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't take much to irritate Michael, especially on the days he recorded a Rage Quit. He never got to the levels of anger that a bullshit video game drove him to, but he always did have the ability to get a little snappish. Though, it didn't help when he didn't have a breakfast. Yeah, he know that was a fucking dumb thing to do, and he should at least have grabbed a snack from the kitchen, but until he could get this fucking thing to actually rendering and not growling at him, Michael had to keep his attention on his computer. Why did they even have these damn things? Did Burnie get a discount from Possessed Computers 'R Us or something? Michael answered his computer's warning noises with a growl of his own, smacking it. He knew weird things happened here, but sometimes they were just fucking annoying. Not like they didn't have enough annoying shit happen anyway.

Speaking of annoying shit, he could hear Gavin with his latest toy. Just a balloon, but he had gone around to anyone with the slightest amount of fuzz to try and get it to stick. The fucking vampire had work too, Michael knew he did, but right now, from the one ear he had uncovered, he could hear Gavin running his fingers over the surface, making it squeak. Gavin _kept doing it_ , and the noise drove into Michael's head until he couldn't take it anymore. He stood suddenly, ripping off his headphones and throwing his chair back as he turned to Gavin. Who looked up at him with innocent eyes, his fingers still fucking running over the balloon. "Something wrong, Michael?"

Without a word, Michael grabbed the offending balloon and a pair of scissors. While it would be satisfying to just jam it in and pop it, it was more satisfying to cut near the knot and watch Gavin's face fall as the air rushed out of the balloon. Michael threw it back at him, smirking now. "Get back to work, dumbass."

For a few glorious moments, everything was calm. People got back to work after watching Michael finally end Gavin's current reign of terror, everything cooperated with everyone for once, and it seemed like Michael might be able to put his headphones on both ears instead of having to listen for various things to go wrong. Maybe even go take a proper lunch. The thought barely had time to take root in his head before he felt someone tugging on the curls on the nape of his neck. Without looking, he slapped the hand. "I said get back to work, Gavvy."

"What's got your knickers in a bunch?" came the wounded reply as Gavin sat back in his seat. "You've been more irritated than usual."

Michael let out a long breath. Gavin wasn't wrong, but still. He didn't want to be called out on it. "None of your business."

"But you're right here next to me!" Gavin leaned forward, eyes bright and intense. "Michael. My boi. What's wrong?"

"I told you, it's none of your business!" Michael covered both ears with a snarl, his head starting to pound. Why was it that Gavin always gave him a headache at the worst times? He could feel the vampire still looking at him, and he finally took his headphones off completely. "What?"

"Michael." Gavin actually looked worried. Good. "You're not usually this angry. Something is bothering you. Why don't we go out for lunch and talk about it? I can pay for it this time. And Jack can watch our systems, make sure they don't try to eat each other. Sound good, yeah?" A pleading note entered his words, making Michael's eyes narrow. "I mean," he said hastily, "you don't have to talk, just get out of the office for a bit, get something in our stomachs, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah Micool," he mimicked, pushing away from his desk. "Look, I don't want to go out and get lunch with you. Got it?"

That made worry etch deeper into Gavin's face, a look too old for him. He started to reach out, and Michael stepped away before he could touch him. "Fuck off." With those words, he left the room.

Gavin wasn't completely wrong, he did need to eat something. But fuck, not like that. Not with a nosy coworker that wanted to know all about his _feelings_. He could feel what could only be described as a hook in his brain pulling, making his head hurt more. Damn it, what the hell. Why the hell was he burdened with a fucking vampire sitting at the desk next to him? A vampire that didn't know his limits, terrorized his coworkers with his silliness, looked at him with such serious eyes like he was remembering that night and undressing him right there-

He could hear Geoff calling him, but he didn't really care right now. Right now, Michael just wanted to get away. Go to a place no one would bother him, and maybe also get his first meal of the day into his stomach. He could go out for some McDonald's, eat in his- fuck. No, he couldn't. He had left his keys at his desk when he stomped away like a fucking child. There could always be something in the kitchen, but that ran the risk of someone else coming in and wanting to talk to him. No fucking thank you. Maybe he could throw something together and find a spot no one was using. That might work. He turned for the kitchen, wincing as he felt the temperature rise. They really needed to get the AC or the heater or something. It felt nice in winter, but damned near intolerable in summer.

Okay. No one in there at the time (probably because it was too goddamn hot), and the bread was sitting right there. Sandwich it was. At least it was easy to make. Two slices of bread and no goddamn lunch meat. Michael stared into the fridge, mouth open. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he muttered as he slammed the door shut. New plan, then. Time to see what was in the pantry. His hand reached out for the knob-

"Michael!"

-when Gavin's panicked voice hit his ears, making them throb and ache. No, he was not listening to him right now. Food first, aggravating vampire maybe after. Michael grasped the pantry doorknob, ready to turn it when strong arms held him still, pulling him away. "Gavin, what the fuck!"

"Please, move away from there," came the plea, naked and open. "Listen to me. This isn't like you. Listen to me alone-"

"Fuck _off_ Gavin, what is your problem?!" What the hell was he talking about? Michael struggled, trying to break the grasp. His head felt like it was about to be split into two, Gavin was irritating him that much. He threw an elbow back, taking vicious satisfaction at the pained grunt. "Let me go! Goddamn, you're fucking stupid today."

A breath was his only warning.

Pain suddenly shot down his spine, making his body lock up. Everything in the world dropped and shattered at his feet at the arrival of that pain. It slowly faded away, leaving a cotton calmness behind. He couldn't feel anything, he finally realized. Did he still have arms? Maybe, if he could move them. He had a neck, he thought. Was that pressure there, or was it somewhere else? He couldn't figure it out. It went on forever and never, his mind stopping as he floated along-

Then pain again as he dropped to the floor. His throat was on _fire_ , Michael thought wildly. It hurt so badly it nearly burned with it. Something pressed against his ears- that was sound. He was hearing something. Geoff's voice, yelling. And Gavin. He sounded- worried. Unhappy. Why? What had just happened? The voices went back into being noise, then stopped. Something touched his shoulder, making him open his eyes. Geoff's worried face met his gaze, kneeling beside him. "Hey." Oh. That was a word. "You okay?"

Michael opened his mouth, and the first sound was a dry click. The second, after swallowing, was a soft squeak. Damn it, he knew how to talk. The third was another squeak, and that made Geoff shake his head. "I get it. Look, Gavin just did a really stupid thing to save your life. Take it really slow and don't try to force it. When you feel up to it, I'll help you to the couch, okay?"

Stupid thing? "Wh-" Michael started, trying to ask. "Wh-" Goddamn it, nothing wanted to work.

"Hey, I said don't force it, numbnuts. I'll explain when you'll actually remember." Michael wanted to ask more, but his eyes didn't want to stay open. Maybe a little nap. Just a little one.


	6. Chapter 6

It reached for him. Hooking into his brain, it wanted to devour him whole. He was its new target, and it wouldn't let him go. Everything about him was too delicious: the youth, the energy, the rage. It wanted him, it desired him-

A cat stood in its way. Large, proud, eyes reflecting moonlight as blood dripped from it's fangs, the cat stayed between him and it. He would be protected by it, but it did something it shouldn't have done. Something that it promised never to do again, something that made his throat burn and taste-

Michael gasped, eyes snapping open suddenly. The world around him didn't resolve into anything easily, and he groped around for his glasses. Not finding them, he pushed up off the fabric he had been drooling on to look blearily around. He did know where this was, didn't he? If anything he knew that fabric pretty well; he had crashed on that couch a few times in the past. So that would mean- Michael shifted to a sitting position slowly, limbs still heavy. Everything felt heavy, unreal. What had happened?

Something pulled at his neck, and he reached up absently to scratch at it. When his fingers encountered gauze and tape, he froze.

He had a bandage on his neck. His neck had been bleeding. Michael's palm flattened over the gaze as his mind put the pieces together. The last thing he remembered was being so angry, so hungry, and Gavin yelling at him. And then- what?

"Hey, you're up." Michael looked over as Geoff came in, taking a sip of the beer in his hands. "About time. How are you doing?"

He should be panicking, right? Something had happened with Gavin, and it wasn't good. "I'm kind of- where are my glasses?"

"Right." Geoff retrieved them for him, and grabbed a chair to sit down across from him. "Really, though. You doing okay there?"

Michael rubbed his eyes before sliding his glasses on, blinking as everything came into focus. And yet, it still didn't quite seem real. His head felt empty, but packed full of cotton. Thoughts just seemed... not real to him. "I'm fine. What happened?"

Geoff made a frustrated noise, and took a long pull of beer. "To keep your dumb ass from being eaten by whatever's in the pantry that we can't get rid of, Gavin bit you."

There was so much wrong with that sentence that Michael didn't know where to start. Gavin biting him explained the bandage, but didn't he say something about how he only bit donors, or something like that? And what was that about something in the pantry? "What?"

"Gavin bit you. Like an idiot, because apparently it does shit like this even though he knows not to bite anyone without express permission. Which is really the only reason why we're not down one British asshole right now."

So how he felt was because of Gavin biting him. And he did it without permission, that was right. Michael should be angry, blindingly furious about it- and he was. But he wasn't, the emotion floating on top of the empty/full feeling and seeming as unreal as everything else. "Asshole."

"No shit." Geoff looked at him steadily, worry creeping into his face. "You're taking this pretty well."

"Still haven't told me what the thing in the pantry is," Michael pointed out. "And I'm still- whatever a vampire bite does."

A disgruntled noise escaped Geoff's throat. "Going to have to have a long talk with Gavin," he muttered to himself. "Yeah, well, we don't know ourselves what that thing is. All we know is we just found out like an intern ago what's been eating all our missing people and until we can get someone out here to say what it is, we're keeping an eye on it. Thing was pretty quiet, and everyone kind of ignored the pantry until you started being your fucking angry self and tried to open it."

The hooks in his brain- Michael closed his eyes, knowing a shudder wanted to pick its way down his back. Instead, he shrugged. "I'll probably scream and yell about it once this fucking thing wears off. Gavin has a lot to answer for."

"Yeah, about that." Geoff leaned forward, completely serious. "Gavin's not allowed to be alone with you anymore." At the rise of Michael's eyebrow, he nodded. "He bit you, right? Guy's got a history of doing stupid shit. Who's to say he's not going to do something even stupider now that he's gotten a taste of your blood?"

"Is that why Millie's not allowed to be alone with him?" Michael shot back.

"Millie's not allowed to be alone with him because while he's basically the best babysitter we could ever have, I know what the fuck he's done and I don't want that sense of humor coming back."

Michael blinked at that, not quite getting it. He fingered the tape on his neck, looking down at his lap. "Still going to yell at Gavin for this, even if it has to be in front of everyone."

That made Geoff chuckle. "Get in line. Now lay back down and get some more rest. Lindsay should be back with something disgustingly healthy and iron rich in a little bit."

* * *

Geoff did not lie. Gavin was not allowed to be alone with him.

At first, it annoyed him, but distantly. He still had to work through that feeling left behind from being bitten, and it only slowly left with each day. He could feel it, though, every day that he went into work and he was a little more aware of it. Of whatever was interested in him, and wanted him. The thought, even while he was cushioned by the vampire bite, chilled him.

With each day, however, the annoyance turned into anger. He wanted to pull Gavin aside and ask what the fuck. What did he do? Why did he do it? There had to been other ways other than fucking _biting him._ Not only that, but did this have any long term effects? Like, how long would he feel like the world was unreal, and would it ever go away? He figured it would as the days went by, but even then he wasn't sure it would completely vanish. And the only way he would get a straight answer out of the fucking vampire would be to take him aside and yell at him alone.

Except right now, Lindsay was hovering over Gavin's shoulder, making sure his attention was on work and not Michael.

Wait. Lindsay's attention wasn't on _him._ Michael looked over at them as he lightly kicked his computer, ignoring the burbling sound. They weren't giving him one ounce of thought at all. Slowly, he shifted out of his chair, trying to leave without being noticed. He froze when he saw Gavin's head start to turn, but then Lindsay leaned in, muttering something in his ear that made his shoulders hunch up. Michael smirked at that as he left quietly. Maybe in another life, he would have fallen deeply in love with that woman. She definitely had something about her.

But right now, he had to wait. Gavin should be reaching his "I had too many Red Bulls" moment about now and needing to leave. And Lindsay wouldn't follow him for that, would she? She might, now that he thought about it. But probably not. Geez, he was fucking waiting for Gavin to take a bathroom break just so he could yell at him alone for once. How pathetic was that?

Finally, he watched Gavin tear by, his warpath set out and nothing would deter him from it. Michael stood a little ways away, for all intents and purposes just appearing as if he was waiting for the bathroom to be free. Which, in a way, he was.

And when Gavin came out, he grabbed the vampire and started to drag him aside. "Ow!" Gavin started to whine. "What are you doing, Michael?"

"I know this isn't even hurting you, so don't start. Actually, speaking of starting, how about you fucking start talking about why you fucking bit me, and why it made me feel like I was living in a dream for the past week?"

Gavin looked down, taking a breath. "That is- I mean, it was my first thought, you know? It does that. Biting someone makes them all loose and happy and easy to drink from so I thought it would make you less angry and easier to get away from the door. And Geoff said to keep everyone away from it, so-"

"So you treated me like a fucking snack."

"Michael, no!" Gavin's face was stricken as he turned it back up. "Yeah, I tasted your blood, but it wasn't to drink it? I wanted you to be here and not chomped on."

"Instead you chomped on me!" Michael gestured at his neck. "Look at this! And now Geoff won't let us be alone like we're kids or something because he's afraid you'll do something stupid- are you, Gavin? Are you going to finish the job at some point and kill me?"

Gavin shook his head. "No. No, I'm not going to do that. I drink from donors all the time, and I've only killed someone once."

Wait. Michael reared his head back at that. "You've killed someone."

Gavin's lips quirked humorlessly. "Of course I've killed someone, Michael. You know I have the worst sense of humor."


	7. Chapter 7

The words fell so simply from Gavin's mouth that Michael had a problem processing them at first. Gavin had killed someone. Gavin had killed someone, and it had to do with his fucked up sense of humor. Michael's hands fell away as he felt his mouth part open, trying to come up with words to follow up with that revelation. Lindsay and the office suddenly seemed too far away, his neck too unprotected, and Gavin too close. A breath tumbled from his lips quickly, and Gavin's tongue came out to lick his own in response as he looked away. That old, sad look crossed his face again, making Michael take a step back. That look was because _he had fucking killed someone._

"Michael?" Gavin's voice met his ears, small in its question.

He took another step away, shoulders rolling back. If he made a break for the office, he could do it. He could make it, get to safety. Or he could run for Geoff; he knew how to handle Gavin. Michael shifted his weight, trying to make his decision before Gavin made it for him.

"'m sorry." With those words, Gavin turned from him, starting to walk back to the office. "Someone's going to notice we're both gone soon, yeah? We need to get back."

"So you're just going to leave it like that?" Michael found himself saying shortly. "You killed someone, and found it funny?"

Gavin paused, one hand bouncing a bit. "Not... quite," he hedged. "It's not a pretty story, Michael. And not one I like to tell. I was stupid, that's all you need to know. And the punishment I got for it made me learn my lesson."

"Don't kill your friends?"

"Something like that, yeah." Gavin didn't turn to look at him when he said that.

So much he could know, just dangling out of his reach. It pissed Michael off. If this goddamn asshole vampire would just talk, it would be over quickly. Of course, he could decide Michael was talking too much and that the lesson he learned didn't cover- shit. Right. What kind of punishment would have taught him any kind of lesson, anyway? "So I take it that's why Geoff doesn't trust you with Millie."

"Will you just bloody let it go already?" Gavin whirled around, eyes gleaming with reflected light. "What do you want me to say? Do you think everything's going to be better knowing how stupid I was, knowing the fallout of it, knowing why no one trusts me? It won't change a thing, Michael!" He made a helpless gesture, a noise falling from his lips. "I love working here, Michael. When I met you, it was the first time I knew I wasn't going away again, that I was staying here. After my time with RvB, I didn't think I was going to come back. When I finally came back and saw you in the Achievement Hunter office... Michael, why would I risk all this because of a stupid prank? Why would I risk losing a job I love with people I like because I have a great idea for a joke that involves killing one of them?"

"You still can't say something like 'I killed someone and thought it was funny' without explaining it! Yeah, you like this job, join the club, but that-"

Without warning, Gavin grabbed him, pushing him up against the nearest wall, grip harsh on his upper arms. "Don't," he whispered, and wow he was really close. Like holy shit, Gavin could get at his neck just by tilting his head. "I like you, Michael. Don't make me have to say it."

Michael tilted his head slightly, trying to keep him away from his throat. "What did you do, Gavin?"

Gavin's face followed Michael's, his forehead coming in to rest lightly against his. With a sigh, Gavin's hands released their grip and stroked lightly down his arms. "I killed a girl," he whispered, the words sinking heavily between them. "And her brother didn't think finding the woman who had been my donor dead in her bed was as funny as I did. And he could get quite a mob together so I lost one of my own friends trying to escape. The others... decided to lock me away until I learned my lesson about how far to take a prank. I don't know how many decades I was alone, Michael." Desperation started to tinge his words, shaking them as Gavin licked his lips. "I was alone in that darkness, in that quiet for so long. All because I was stupid."

"Jesus." Every bit of Michael screamed at him to get away. What Gavin had done...

"Does it make you feel better, Michael? Knowing that?" Slowly, Gavin took a step back, lifting his head. "That's why Geoff doesn't trust me with Millie. And that's why he doesn't trust me alone with you anymore. Do you think he's wrong?"

He knew he should say something, even if it was agreeing that Gavin was a threat, but nothing came out. "You're alone with me now," Michael finally croaked out.

Gavin's lips quirked at that. "That I am."

Uh oh. Michael swallowed, pressing himself up against the wall more as Gavin reached out to him. He shouldn't have pointed that out. He shouldn't have pointed out that he was alone with a killer, and- was being kissed by him. Gavin was cupping his face, pressing his lips to Michael's in a soft kiss before finally pulling back. "What-"

"I said I liked you," he murmured, hand still cupping his jaw. "I was so happy when you started to kiss me. I haven't had a real relationship since... this pretty bird called Meg. She was..." A soft smile crossed his lips, love still tinging the curve. "Michael, I didn't want to tell you. I wanted to let this illusion continue on for a little longer, that I could have what I haven't had since Meg." Slowly, Gavin let him go, taking a step back. "You should get back."

Michael nodded, swallowing. That wasn't where he expect it to go, and everything was moving in directions he couldn't follow. He had to leave, go back to something familiar. Go back to his editing, to his possessed computer, to _work._ He edged his way around Gavin, just barely not running when he was free. Everything that had happened, from Gavin's confessions to the kiss to, weirdly enough, the soft touch on his jaw, tossed around in his head in a jumbled mess. Lindsay looked up from Gavin's computer as he strode in, her face a mask of puzzlement as he dropped into his seat. "Hey. Where have you been?" she asked, coming up next to him.

Words died on his lips as he looked at his monitor. He couldn't even say anything he had just heard, just experienced. Couldn't even guess what it meant. "Had to... do something."

"You okay?" Michael looked up at her, seeing the worry etched in her eyes. "Did you run into Gavin?"

Yes. Yes, he had. "I'm fine. Just... thinking. Shouldn't you be crawling back into your own editing hole, Tuggey?"

A hand slapped his shoulder as she snorted. "Once Geoff gets back," she told him. "And stop pouting like a fucking child; you know the rules now."

Which made more sense now than he wanted them to. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

As the days slipped by, Gavin started to grow quiet. Not as obnoxious. It crossed everyone's face, the anxiety about what it could mean. When he came into work, and refused to use his own computer, Michael finally had enough. The restless energy that had been building in him started to break, making him stand up suddenly.

"Michael, sit the fuck back down," Geoff called over, and a quick irritated glance had him notice the way Geoff's fingers tightened for a moment.

What the hell. He just needed to get up and move. Gavin's sudden new behavior was driving him crazy, and he needed to get it out. "Just need to do something."

"Ray can do it." Oh hell no. Geoff was not playing Papa Bear to him, trying to keep him safe. He would be perfectly okay. "So sit your ass down."

A part of him wanted to do it. Wanted to sit back down, because he could tell what was wrong. Why Geoff was worried. But he just needed to get moving. Michael's head started to hurt as he shook his head. "Not going anywhere near Gavin, I swear."

"Yeah, and that's not why I'm saying this. Sit back down."

"Yeah, well, fuck you." The words slipped out before he could stop them, the pulse in his head distracting him. "Fuck. Geoff."

Michael could feel hands on him, trying to push him back into his seat. WIthout thinking, he shrugged them off with a snarl. He could fucking _feel_ the hooks in his brain now, and the completely unsubtle way it tried to reel him in. Like a goddamn fish. He took a deep breath, trying to think, trying to shake it off. He could do this. Not be suckered in, not be munched on, be okay- Michael sat down, fingers drumming against his thigh for a moment before he stood back up. No, he couldn't just sit down. He had to run around the office for a little bit. Distract himself. His hands scrubbed his face as he took another deep breath. "Fuck."

"You back with us, buddy?"

He looked up at Geoff, and suddenly pushed him with a rush of unnatural anger. It was induced, he knew it was, that whatever it was that wanted him had stopped luring him and was now outright yanking on him. But as he stormed out of the office, he couldn't stop it. His mind clouded with the anger and the need to walk, overriding everything else. Damn it. He had gone from being a vampire's snack to being a whatever the fuck's meal. And he was powerless to stop it. The anger from his helplessness wove into the induced anger, indistinguishable from the fake emotion. The last time this had happened, being a vampire snack had broken it. He wasn't about to let Gavin rip him open again, though. Who the fuck knew if Gavin would actually stop this time. But he needed something to break this shit.

Break. Yes. He was getting close to the kitchen, and running out of time. But if this worked... Michael reached up blindly as something walked by, grabbing their shirt. "I need you to break my arm."

"What?!" Oh shit. Michael looked over into startled, gleaming eyes as Gavin spluttered, his shirt still firmly in his grasp. "Michael, are you mad?"

"Just about," he grit out. "Especially if I'm thinking you're my only option because you're the last person before I hit the kitchen." Understanding dawned on Gavin's face as Michael's grip wavered. "And I don't mean snack on me again. Hit me, break my arm, something."

Something flickered in Gavin's eyes, the hint that he had been right to be wary. For a moment, Michael was certain Gavin _would_ , and take some kind of pleasure in it. Maybe even find it funny. Instead, he felt Gavin's hand in his hair as he roughly positioned Michael's head just the way he wanted it, kissing him deeply. Of course he would, Michael thought with a growl, trying to turn his head. But Gavin's hand tightened as he did, his other hand reaching down to yank Michael's off his shirt and hold it tightly. Damn it, Gavin shouldn't be taking control of this, not- Michael reached up with his free hand, trying to tug him closer. Instead, Gavin shoved Michael's head to one side, roughly dragging teeth across his jaw and soothing it with a tongue. There were voices yelling at them, but this was more important. It kept him busy, kept him from going into the kitchen, helped him bleed off that angry energy. Gavin's lips swept down to his throat, and his mind suddenly froze.

And then Gavin was pulled away, leaving Michael to stumble back, shaking and breathing heavily. Geoff looked over at him as he held Gavin tightly, locking his arms up under Gavin's and wrists behind his neck. "You still with us?"

Michael touched his throat, nodding. The energy still ran under his skin, skittering, but the anger had muted, replaced. With something he wasn't sure he wanted Geoff to see. "Yeah. Gavin, what the shit? I asked you to break my arm."

"What the hell, Michael?"

"Only thing I could think of to keep me from wanting to go into the kitchen," he snapped back at Geoff, feeling a spike of anger. Michael put a hand to his head, taking a breath. "Okay. I'm fine."

"Sure you are. Take the rest of the day off and get away from this fucking thing. You," Geoff turned his attention to the quiet vampire in his grasp, "and I are going to have a talk."

"I wasn't going to bite him," Gavin muttered as Michael left, going back to the office to get his things.

Maybe he wasn't. But after all of that... they couldn't be sure. Michael looked down at his keys, feeling a surge of anger before taking a breath and moving to leave. No, he had to get out of the Rooster Teeth building before he thought about that. Even get home. That way, if he got angry, he knew it was his own emotions, and not something trying to snack on him.

Again.


	8. Chapter 8

Becoming horizontal usually meant time to stop drinking. That's what anyone with a normal functioning consciousness would think, anyway. It usually foretold a visit to the porcelain god and a horrible morning.

Michael shoved all of that aside as he tilted his head up, his mouth filling with the astringent, slightly sweet taste of vodka. Good ol' Tito's, he thought blearily. Always there when he needed it. Always there when something he couldn't even imagine nearly got him, and the reason why he was still here was because Gavin had taken him and shoved his tongue down his throat.

Gavin had kissed him to pull him out of that induced rage. Michael's head thumped back against the headrest of his couch as he let the hand with the glass dangle to the ground. That had happened, and he had let it. No, encouraged it. He had fought back against the dominance to take control of the kiss even though he knew that Gavin was a murderous fuck at levels Ryan wouldn't even touch. Even if Gavin seemed to regret it, though- Michael snorted, lifting himself up slightly to take another sip. What was Gavin regretting? The fact he had taken a life, or the fact he had been punished for it?

Good questions. Ones that needed answering. Michael put his glass down on the floor and reached his arm out to try and find his phone, intent on texting that exact question to him, when he remembered he had to hook it up to charge. So it was well out of his reach right now. Probably for the best. Michael groped around for his glass, nearly knocking it over before he finally picked it back up.

Why was he still working at Rooster Teeth? He constantly had to deal with possessed equipment, plants that occasionally came to life that wanted to kill them, a vampire, a thing in the pantry that wanted to eat all of them... people liked his Rage Quits enough that he could probably do that independently, and get some sweet dough from Youtube. Yeah, he wouldn't be making Minecraft videos with the other Achievement Hunters, or filming VS or AHWUs, or doing Play Pals, or... any of that. He wouldn't be seeing anyone he really liked anymore at work. Michael frowned at his glass, looking at the small sip left in it. That was probably why. Despite everything that told him to go away, he would miss everyone.

Michael blinked, settling his glass on his chest. Everyone. Lindsay, Geoff, Ray, Ryan, Jack... and even Gavin, in some way. He'd miss how that fucking vampire would annoy everyone, grinning the entire time. He'd miss how he'd squawk when things went wrong, and going out to bars with him and- just being bois with him. Before he had tried his drunken experiment to figure out of Gavin was a vampire (which he should have just asked, in retrospect) by counting his teeth with his tongue. Before finding out what that old, sad look on his face had meant.

"Fuck you." It came out louder than he realized, slurred even in his ears. "Fuck you and your stupid big vampire nose and your- your whole Gavinness." Michael downed the last of his drink and twisted to put the glass on the table, the _chnk_ echoing through the room. "You asshole, making it hard to figure out if I should hate you."

He should. He was already afraid of him, knowing what Gavin had done, and that Gavin had bitten him without permission. At the same time... Michael ground his palm against his forehead with a groan, closing his eyes. Team Nice Dynamite hadn't just been a thing while the cameras were on. And Gavin had a ton of chances to bite him before. Hell, he could have done it while they were having sex, instead of giving him a hickey. So many chances, and he took it when Michael was about to be suckered into being eaten. Michael's hand fell away as he stared up at the ceiling, stomach sliding a little as it shifted above him. One too many drinks, he realized suddenly. Or maybe he should have cut it with something like orange juice instead of going "fuck it" and needing a drink right then. But everything stayed where it was, and he closed his eyes.

Back to work in the morning. Back to work with a monster hangover, but maybe that would help cushion it against being manipulated.

And then he could figure out what to do about Gavin.

* * *

Even the light in the building hurt. Michael groaned as he kept his head down, trying to keep the pounding to a minimum. He knew he would have the hangover to end all hangovers, but this was ridiculous. Absently, he kicked something scurrying by his feet, not even wanting to know what it was right now. Probably another weird thing around here, since it was as big as a rat but looked nothing like one. Great, now they had supernatural pests. Michael threw himself into his chair and reached out to turn his computer on, then paused.

Everyone was quiet. Really quiet.

"What happened?" Ow. Michael winced at the sound of his own voice shooting through his head, but he looked around. Geoff was rubbing his face, resigned, as Ray and Ryan both turned to look at him, Jack moving to block the door... okay, that was fair, considering what wanted to eat him. In fact, the way everyone started to move, it looked like they were getting into position to tackle him if needed. "Fuck. What happened?" And there was someone missing. After what happened, it would make sense, but-

Geoff cleared his throat, standing up. "After you left, there was... well, something happened. The thing decided it had gone long enough without eating and- well, ate someone."

The words slapped him into silence. Because he had left, someone else had been eaten instead. Someone they didn't even think was in danger. "Who?" Wait. Geoff. Ray. Ryan. Jack. "Where's Gavin?" Michael looked around, hissing as pain lanced through his skull at the motion. It couldn't have eaten Gavin. He still had a lot to answer for. He just... couldn't be dead.

"Hey, calm down." Geoff pressed a hand into his shoulder. "Damn vampire's like a cockroach. Gavin's taking care of something with Burnie right now. It was another intern. Guess it wanted to pick someone we wouldn't immediately realize was acting weird."

Michael scrubbed his face with his hand, exhaling sharply. "Yeah. Okay. So what are we going to do?"

"That's the question, yeah?" Everyone turned suddenly as Gavin came up behind Jack. "We have to figure out what to do about this thing."

"Well, what's Burnie already tried?" Ryan asked, making Geoff frown in thought.

"I... actually don't know. I mean, we all know it's a problem, right? So we should have tried something to take care of it. I just can't remember-"

"Probably because he hasn't tried anything." Gavin held up his hands as they all shot him disbelieving looks. "No, I'm not going mad. Think about it. When you lot started on, what did you think about your computers?"

"I thought it was weird it spat blood, but-" Ray started, making Gavin point a finger at him.

"Exactly what I mean! What normal computer does that? What would do that in the normal world? But when I came on, it just seemed strange but almost normal, like it fit in with everything else." At the dawning comprehension on everyone's faces, he nodded. "I didn't think it was something to worry about either. And that everyone could guess I was a vampire but wasn't trying to kill me for it?"

Michael dropped his head into his hands, groaning before he lifted it again, letting his hands drag down his face. "Just get to the point." He was too hungover for this.

Gavin turned to him in triumph. "My point is, innit weird that we have something wanting to eat us living in our pantry? But we just take it as part as the normal weirdness. What if that's what it wanted us to think?"

Everyone looked at him for a moment, the thought rattling through everyone's head before Ryan chuckled. "You're thinking too much about it."

"No, he's got a point." Geoff rubbed his mustache, starting to pace. "We're dealing with a lot of fucked up things, and we're just taking them in stride. Why?"

Michael shot him a bleary glare. Of course they were going to talk about this now. While he was hungover as fuck. They did have a point, though. He had thought about this last night, after all. Why was he still here if this happened? Why were any of them still here, taking all of this as a weird sort of normal? Was Gavin right, and it wanted them to think it was a normal kind of weirdness? Fuck, he needed something to drink. Michael stood up, only to feel a firm hand on his arm. "Let me go," he sighed, not having the energy to be angry right now.

"I don't think so." Ryan's other hand took his shoulder, guiding him back into his seat.

"I just need some coffee," he growled, staring at a point in the floor in frustration. He couldn't even get up to get something to drink without having a babysitter.

Ray scrambled away to get said coffee as Gavin edged around everyone, coming a little closer to Michael. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Geoff and Jack started to step closer to Gavin, and Michael could feel Ryan's hands tensing on him. "Just perfect," came the sharp snap back. He could see everyone tensing at that, but damn it, he wasn't a child. "Just fucking perfect." Of course, right now would be the right time for that fucking thing to try to eat him, wouldn't it? He was already getting angry at being treated like this, so it wouldn't be hard to push it further and make him want to come to the kitchen. Good thing he didn't want to. Michael closed his eyes, hands flexing. He could hear everyone talking around him, still trying to figure out why all the weirdness seemed normal, and Ryan kept his hands on him and- he was just tired of this. He wanted to go back to playing video games and editing and fucking around.

Ah, there was the tug on his brain.

Michael's eyes snapped open as the tug came harder than he expected. It filled him, the desire to punch them all in the face and start a rampage of rage to the kitchen. He knew what would happen when he got there, and it didn't seem like it wanted him to think differently. That it knew him knowing would make him angrier. His hands curled into fists as the thought settled into his mind. And all of this was directed right at that thing, at what it was doing to him.

"That would mean that- Michael?" Ryan broke off, looking down at him. Of course he could feel the rage starting to build. "You doing okay there?"

No. The word stuck in his throat as his jaw flexed, a breath coming out fast. The gents would keep him from getting out of hand, and Gavin... well, who knew what he'd do. He just had to tell himself everything was okay, everything... Michael stood suddenly, throwing an elbow back to catch Ryan in the ribs. It was enough to dislodge his grasp, making him stumble back. Geoff snagged his wrist, twisting to pin Michael against the wall, arm pressed up against the small of his back. "What the hell, Michael?!" he growled in his ear, making the rage climb even higher. He shouldn't have gotten into this position. He should have been able to- "Okay, Jack, go make sure Ray gets back okay. Something's hungry and it might snack since it can't get the meal it wants."

Michael turned his head so his forehead was pressed against the wall as Jack left, trying to ignore the ache trying to shake it apart. He could do this. His hand flexed against his back as the breathed, free hand coming up to rest against the wall.

Then tossed his head back in a fresh spurt of energy, knocking Geoff in the nose as he did. The grip on his wrist weakened, and he pushed off the wall, twisting to break his grasp. He could see Ryan and Gavin moving towards him, and he wanted to stop, wanted to let one of them grab him again, but he found himself dashing for the door, leaving Gavin's distressed cry behind him.

All the while, knowing he had failed. Knowing he could have done it, could have held out and not been the fucking main course that this thing wanted.

"Michael, hey, whoa-" Ray stood in his way, holding the promised coffee. "What do you think you're doing?"

If he could think about it after he was eaten, he'd feel bad about shoving Ray to the side, spilling the hot coffee over his shirt. Or impressed about how hard he hit the wall; apparently raging Michael was a hell of a lot stronger than normal Michael. But right now, his entire world narrowed to the pantry. It wasn't like before, where he could think about how he needed to change it. How he needed to break it's hold on him. It's grip on his mind was complete, and he could feel the glee and anticipation overflow into the rage. It wanted him, and wouldn't let him go now. Michael's hand touched the doorknob to the pantry-

And was ripped away as arms too strong to be human wrestled him away. Gavin held him tightly, almost shaking with it. "You're going to die like this," he whispered into his ear, almost pleadingly. "Stop, please, Michael." He pressed his forehead into Michael's neck as he writhed, the words not meaning anything. Not penetrating in the least. "If you want someone who's right pissed," Gavin finally growled, looking up at the pantry, "then you can have him." He paused for a moment, then pressed his lips against Michael's neck. "I'm sorry," he mumbled against his skin. "It's for the best."

And that pain. Michael had forgotten for the first moment, just as Gavin bit in, there was pain. Then it melted away, leaving him in that cloud, melted into absolute nothing and just riding out the bite-

Before Gavin dropped him just as quickly, wiping his mouth. And strode over to the pantry as Michael could do nothing but watch with a detached mind, taking the doorknob and twisting it open.

He didn't know what he would have expected. But one moment Gavin was there.

The next, he was gone, and the door was clicking shut once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a promise in the tags I will keep. Just wait for the epilogue.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write a lot when I'm in a bad mood. Who knew?
> 
> Also, I tried to make this the last chapter. I really did.

He should be angry. He should be upset. He should want to scream, to open that door and see if he could drag that damn vampire back by the collar and strangle him for pulling such a stunt.

Instead, Michael laid there, numbly looking at the door. If he could lift even a finger, he would try to sit up, but that wouldn't be happening. The bite kept him as calm and pliant as before, suppressing any resistance. All he could do was continue to watch the door, bleeding onto the floor and knowing what Gavin had done, but knowing there wasn't anything he could do about it. He opened his mouth with a dry click, then shivered suddenly.

He felt cold, he realized. That wasn't good. It had felt like Gavin hadn't had his mouth on Michael nearly as long, but he must have. He must have had enough that Michael was going into shock. That had to be the reason why Michael felt cold in the hottest spot in the building. Another shiver wracked his body, giving him a faint knowledge of helplessness. He couldn't even stop this. Michael closed his eyes, his fingers twitching.

Finally, he felt hands on him, voices above him. Something pressed against his neck - a dishcloth - and he was picked up. Michael relaxed into the heat, his eyes opening again and staring up into Ryan's disbelieving face. He was saying something, Michael realized. But right now, it didn't matter. He couldn't focus on anything, except.

Except on the fact that he had been vampire food yet again, and said vampire had sacrificed himself.

It didn't make sense. It... that... had been _Gavin._ Why did he bother doing that for Michael? He could have easily just dragged Michael back and tied him up again. Fucking vampire was strong enough for it. But no, Gavin opened the door and let himself become food instead.

Michael let his eyes close again, feeling words rumble in Ryan's chest as he started to drift off. He couldn't think right now. Not on that. He could feel Ryan start to move, but it didn't matter as he dropped into unconsciousness.

* * *

The desk next to him was empty.

Again.

Michael leaned back in his chair, looking up at where the wall met the ceiling. It had been a while since that desk had been empty. For a while, it had been a revolving door, people coming in and being eaten. And then along came Gavin- Michael's eyes narrowed as a distant pang of anger snapped into his chest, buried under the empty full effect of being bitten. It was starting to wear off, letting him start to be angry at what the fuck Gavin had done. Not just biting him; it allowed him to want to yell at him for opening that fucking door and basically killing himself. Seriously, what the fuck did that accomplish other than put Rooster Teeth down one major employee?

When they put out the announcement, it had been the hardest thing they had ever had to do. Michael hadn't gotten on Twitter that say, unwilling to have a memory for later, for when his emotions were back the way they should be. Faking them for the sake of videos ended up being hard once they decided to continue on, and Michael wasn't even sure it turned out right. Last time, he didn't have to record any Rage Quits for a while, but this time... He slipped off his headphones and looked at his whirring computer, daring it to growl at him. It had been too quiet lately, and he knew it was just waiting for him to turn his back before it tried to eat him.

Instead, it just ran quietly, simply, like a computer should.

It was creepy.

Michael stood up suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck. He needed something to drink. Anything to get away from this. Not to the kitchen, hell no. Someone had gotten a mini-fridge and now everyone used it to stay out of the kitchen.

Well, except the new interns that didn't know any better. Michael snorted as he saw one dart out, face white. At least she hadn't been eaten, which was good. They really had to actually tell the new hires about the kitchen when they signed on instead of letting them find out on their own. Of course, considering how their minds had just been fucked with to find man-hungry plants and possessed electronics normal, that thing could have made it so they didn't want to tell anyone and it had a pool of unsuspecting victims.

"Hey, uh..." She stopped in front of Michael, trying to catch her breath. What the fuck? What had made her that worked up? "The uh. Kitchen. Isn't haunted, is it?"

The question took Michael so much by surprise that he just looked at her with his mouth open for a moment. "Why the hell do you ask that?" he finally managed.

She gestured behind her, swallowing. "It's the coldest spot in the entire building and- well, I heard _noises._ Like someone trying to get out. But I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I checked everywhere, the cabinets, the pantry-"

"Hold on." Michael grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. The shock rose in him, filling the empty spaces. "You opened the fucking pantry?"

Annoyance crossed her face as she shoved his hands aside. "No one said anything about it. And it's really bare in there. Like, nothing in there. Anyway, is... is there something about the kitchen I should know?"

She opened the pantry and nothing happened. It had lured her into opening the door and she survived. Michael ran a hand through his curls, letting out a long breath. That was not how that thing operated. It ate, and ate a lot. He remembered how many people they went through just while he had been here. So why was this one still alive? And, he realized, looking up at the kitchen, she said the kitchen was cold. The coldest part of the building. It had always be so hot he thought he'd have heat stroke sometimes. Was this a new trick, making him want to go in there because it sounded so intriguing?

"Uh... Michael?" A hand started waving in front of him. "Something I should know?"

"No." Michael took a step back, shaking his head. "It's nothing. Just... stay away from the kitchen."

"Sounds like something I should know about," she muttered as she walked away, displeasure written in her face. Which fuck her, that didn't matter. But what did matter... would what happen to her happen to everyone?

It was never said that Michael made the best decisions. Which was why he was slipping into the empty kitchen, shivering as the icy air hit him. She hadn't been lying; it really was the coldest spot. Impulsively, he grabbed a knife out of the drawer. He knew it wouldn't do any good, but... maybe. And maybe standing off to the side when he opened the door would keep it from eating him immediately. That was the plan as Michael pressed his back up against the wall and put his hand on the knob. The door swung open and he braced himself, waiting-

A blast of arctic air hit him, but that was all. Nothing tried to pull on him, tried to want him. Michael peeked around the threshold, gaze meeting empty shelves and cobwebs.

And nothing else.

Knife lowered, Michael just looked into the pantry, numbness overtaking the brief rush of emotion. What had he expected? A monster he could fight? Gavin to just fall out? Michael pressed his hand against the frame as he closed it, forehead tilting to rest against the door. That would never happen. Gavin was... Gavin was dead. Eaten. And what would he do if he did? He exhaled sharply, not sure if he could answer that question. With that breath, he turned around, stopping as Ryan stared at him from the entrance with a startled and worried gaze. "Hey. Uh. What's up?"

"Michael." Shit. He knew that tone of voice, having gotten acquainted with it over the last few days while being babysat. And he could see Ryan's body language changing, ready to spring at him at any moment. "Nice knife you have there."

"This?" Michael shrugged as he looked down at it. "First thing I grabbed." He knew Ryan was humoring him, knew he probably knew the best knife in the kitchen for self-defense and knew this wasn't it. But he needed something. It was kind of funny, just how on edge Ryan was with Michael by the pantry with a weapon in his hand. But he wasn't in the mood to be wrestled to the ground and disarmed, so he walked over to the table and put it down.

Ryan didn't visibly relax, but it was obvious he wasn't as wary as he had been. "There are better ones in there." He knew it. "Come over, let me show you."

"You don't have to trick me into it," Michael told him, hands up. "I'm leaving." He started walking towards him, rolling his eyes when Ryan grabbed his wrist. "Really?"

He opened his mouth to respond, then snapped his gaze up as a thud reverberated through the room. Michael half turned before Ryan pulled him close, his eyes going cold. Because no matter what they could say, it was obvious where it came from. And the scrape, sounding like a body falling down a door, just made Ryan hold onto Michael harder as they both looked at the pantry. "Get back to the office," he growled, pushing the younger man behind him.

"Like I'm going to do that." Michael ducked around him, staring at the pantry. "I want to know what the hell that was too."

"And you're what it's hunting." Ryan turned to him, that cold gaze leveled at him. "Don't make me have to knock you out or something."

That made anger worm its way through his veins, his spine straightening. Ryan may be the crazy one and know a lot about fighting, but he was the angry one. And he wouldn't give this up. "I don't fucking-"

All discussion stopped as they heard the doorknob shake. That wasn't how it worked. Nothing tried to get out. Ryan quickly went for the discarded knife, holding it up in a practiced motion as he held his arm out, pushing Michael back. And fuck that, if it ate Ryan instead of him- He started to grab Ryan, ready to push him aside so that fucking heroic sacrifice wouldn't happen as the door swung open.

And Gavin's limp body slithered out.

Ryan lowered the knife with wide eyes. Before he could say anything, stop him, Michael ducked under his arm and knelt down next to Gavin, fingers coming up to rest against an icy neck. Which pretty much told him everything - Gavin was usually as hot as a human. And he couldn't feel a pulse... well he was a vampire, so did he ever have one? "Fuck." Michael rubbed the heel of his hand into his forehead, trying to think. "He's probably really dead, right? He usually looked a lot like a human and he's not even _breathing_ and-"

"Probably needs blood," Ryan finished. "He's a vampire, right?" Carefully, he knelt next to Michael, and pressed the blade of the knife to the pad of one of his fingers. "Turn his head; we don't want him to choke."

"How the hell do you know this stuff," Michael muttered as he did so, Ryan holding his bleeding finger above Gavin's mouth to let the blood dribble in. "Not the blood thing, that makes sense, but the not choking thing."

"I know things," Ryan told him distractedly, putting the knife down so he could squeeze around the wound, pulling more blood to the surface. It fell past Gavin's open mouth, staining the floor below him as Gavin remained unresponsive. "Come on..."

Nothing. He didn't lick his lips, didn't- Michael found himself taking a shuddering breath, hands convulsing on Gavin's shoulder. Of course they'd just get his body back. Not even have the ability to yell at him one more time-

Gavin surged up without warning, grabbing Ryan's arm and wrapping his lips around the cut. By the way Ryan tried to pull his arm back, then went lax, a small smile crossing his face as he let Gavin hold onto his arm as he drank, it was pretty obvious teeth had become involved. "Hey, whoa, Gavin!" Michael tried to pull him back, only to get a growl in response. "Gavin, what the hell? Let Ryan go!"

Something in that made Gavin pause, open his eyes. He turned slightly, blearily looking up at Michael. "Ryan...?" he parroted. One hand came up, patting Michael's face. "Michael?"

"Yeah. Dumbass." The insult made Gavin's eyes widen. He let go of Ryan to grab Michael's face, pulling him down to him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's really you," he breathed. Then kissed him, laughing into the gesture.


	10. Chapter 10

Michael wouldn't have believed it before, but somehow Gavin looked tiny in Ryan's arms. They had tried to help him out of the kitchen, but with both Gavin's legs not wanting to hold any weight and Ryan not quite all there, that turned out not to work. Somehow, Ryan had managed to stay upright, probably because he had used a knife to make the initial cut and not Gavin's teeth. Or something like that; the one who could explain it all had his eyes closed and still looked like a corpse.

Of course, on the way back to the Achievement Hunter office, they ran into someone. It wouldn't go that smoothly. Lindsay stood, frozen as they brushed past her, a pen stuck between her lips as her eyes locked onto Gavin's still form. "Holy _shit_ ," she finally blurted out, taking the pen from her mouth. "What the fuck?"

"I don't even know," Michael told her distractedly, looking around. No one came yet to see what had Lindsay worked up, but... he motioned, following Ryan as he kept going. "We need to keep it to the guys, okay? Someone's going to not react well, or it'll get out, and I don't even know how we'd explain this one."

Lindsay followed them, her eyes wide as she leaned close to him. "Michael, he was _dead_ ," she hissed at him. "How the _hell_ is he not dead now?"

"If I knew that, I would tell you." He could now hear Geoff's similar shout of 'What the _fuck_?!' which meant Ryan must have gotten their attention. "Lindsay, I don't know what happened. He just... the door opened and he just fell out. I don't even fucking know what happened. He's still pretty out of it, so that asshole can't explain what the hell's going on." Michael rubbed his face, feeling the strange rush of emotion straining under cotton. "Just... don't say anything."

"What could I say that'd make sense?" Lindsay tapped the pen against her other hand, looking at the office door. "I want to know what happened, though." With those words, she strode towards the door, leaving Michael to follow her in a rush.

When they closed the door behind them, they could see Gavin laying on the couch, a familiar smile on his face as Geoff laid into him. He and Ryan were the only ones in the office, everyone else off still on a break. "And on top of biting Michael again, that self-sacrificing stunt!" His voice managed to stay under the volume that would carry outside the office, but it still rang through the air. "We fucking told everyone you were dead, you asshole! You had us all mourning you for a completely dumbass thing you did."

"You're not completely wrong," Gavin murmured, shifting. "I mean, you knew I'm dead when you found out I'm a vampire."

"That is not the point and you know it."

That made Gavin shrug, burying his nose into the pillow. "S'kinda is." He looked at them with the eye that wasn't covered by the pillow, serious. "It's why that thing's dead now."

"Hold up." Lindsay took a step forward, the hand holding her pen up. "What the hell do you mean?"

Gavin tilted his head so he could look at her, blinking blearily. "Hey, Lindsay. Well, Michael has a lot of emotion, yeah?" He twisted so he could look at Michael, smiling. "Hey boi."

"Eye-fuck your boyfriend later," Geoff snapped. "So what does that have to do with the thing being dead?"

Gavin settled back into a comfortable position, frowning. "I don't really know, actually. All I know is it really wanted... life. So that would mean Michael with all his emotion had a lot of life, right?" He closed his eyes, his voice starting to trail off. "But I don't have life."

Michael blinked, one hand bouncing as he followed the train of thought. "The Interview With a Vampire thing. When they drink dead blood."

That made Gavin laugh. "That's not true, by the way," he said sleepily. "It just tastes worse than animal blood. But the whole poisoning... I think so. It didn't like me very much. Didn't fancy you for Anne Rice reader, boi."

The words made Michael squirm uncomfortably. "It was on TV one day," he mumbled. "Anyway, you're telling us your dead ass poisoned the damn thing?

"Mm." Gavin opened his eyes, turning again to look at him. "All dead. I think."

"You think." Ryan's voice cut in for the first time, thoughtful and distant.

Gavin shrugged, settling back into position. "I'm tired," he whined. "It really tried to eat me."

Geoff ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Fine. But you'll have to explain yourself later." With those words, he turned to leave, most likely to get something to drink. Michael didn't blame him; That barely explained anything. But they barely understood what it was they had in the pantry to begin with, if they understood at all.

Lindsay was the next to speak up. "Well, as much as that explained everything," she said sarcastically, looking at Gavin, "I need to get back to work. Gav, you really do need to tell us later everything that happened so we know what the hell happened." With those words, she left, only Michael and Ryan awkwardly looking at each other as Gavin sighed and snuggled into the pillow. Ryan licked his lips as he looked away, raising his eyebrows as words tried to come out his mouth.

"Boi?"

Both of them froze at Gavin's little lost voice, watching as his hand came out slightly. "It's... quiet here," he whispered. "Can you stay?"

The same words that started this. Michael's heart sped up a bit at the memory of how that night went, heat prickling over his skin as he looked at Gavin. He could say no. He could leave, letting Gavin rest in silence. But... he remembered Gavin's words, about how he had been left alone in silence. The anxiety in his face about being alone again. Michael looked over at Ryan, the older man shaking his head and mumbling something as he left. Which meant they were alone. Which meant now Michael had to make his decision and not shove it off onto someone else.

With a deep breath, Michael grabbed his chair, bringing it over to the couch. "You really fucked things up around here," he told him, settling in. "We had to tell everyone you're dead and everything. Your fans didn't take that at well at all."

"They wouldn't," he agreed sleepily. "You told everyone I'm dead?"

"Yeah. Remember, Geoff told you?"

Gavin shrugged. "Tired," came the same whine. "But... that means I can't come back now. I really liked this job, Michael."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you bit me and and threw yourself into the fire," Michael retorted. "Which, why the hell did you bite me?"

One eye opened, looking at him. "Thought it'd give you some time to come up with a new idea, and so you wouldn't be angry right away." The eye closed as he turned his head into the pillow. "Make you not feel as much so you'd be less interesting to it for a bit. I didn't think I'd come back, though."

"Idiot."

That earned him a smile. "But I'm your idiot." The smile fell into a frown as Gavin thought. "I can't stay here, can I. Too many people know Gavin Free lives here."

Michael sat back a little, looking at him. "What are you planning?"

"I don't know." Gavin yawned. "Tired. Not thinking. Need a kip. Maybe I'll go back to Italy for a bit, be someone else there. I haven't been back there in ages. Liked England too much."

"Huh." Italy. He did tell the fans, who didn't know about the whole vampirism thing, that his family was from Italy. He had never thought about that it might mean Gavin would have been from Italy originally. "You know a lot of people know who you are, right?"

That made Gavin grin. "Different clothes, hair, and manners can make people believe you're someone else." He pouted as he opened his eyes. "Michael, can I sleep now? Please?"

Michael chuckled at that, reaching out to ruffle Gavin's hair. "Fine. Get some sleep. I'll be here holding your hand like you're a kid afraid of the fucking dark." His fingers combed through Gavin's hair as he snuggled in again, watching him. "You let me know what your new gamertag is no matter what, okay?"

"Mmhmm." Gavin hummed slightly, smiling."

Michael just smiled back at that, his fingers still running through Gavin's hair as he fell asleep. He stayed like that for a while, watching the vampire sleep as he played with his hair, head tilted with a little half-smile resting on his lips.

They had later to figure out what happened next.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much, all of you! From everyone that clicked on the link to anyone that left kudos to all that commented, thank you all for being here!


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